David Stern Veto: Why Lakers, Rockets and Hornets Fans Should Still Be Outraged

On December 8, 2011, the New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets agreed to a trade that appeased all sides. The Lakers would receive one of the smartest, most competitive, most explosive point guards the league has ever seen in Chris Paul. They'd finally have the point guard they had long been clamoring for to lead the franchise into the future. The trio of Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, and Andrew Bynum would be a "Big Three" that could compete with anyone. This would've been great for the Lakers. 

The Houston Rockets would finally get the All-Star player (Pau Gasol) that they believe would eventually put them over the top. By shedding themselves of Kevin Martin and Luis Scola's contracts, they would be entering this summer's off-season with a nucleus of Gasol, Kyle Lowry and young guns Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris and Chandler Parsons. They would've still had possibly two draft picks in the middle of the first round and more than $20 million in cap room. This would've been great for the Rockets. 

The New Orleans Hornets would acquire Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and Lamar Odom to join Jarrett Jack, Trevor Ariza, Emeka Okafor, Jason Smith, Greivis Vasquez and Gustavo Ayon. Jarrett Jack likely would've been traded, as he had the most favorable contract for what he brings to the table. So, you're looking at a starting lineup of Dragic, Martin, Ariza, Scola and Okafor. Additionally, you have Odom, Smith, Vasquez, Ayon and Player X (acquired from a Jack trade) coming off the bench.

While they wouldn't have had any flexibility with cap space, they still don't now. But, they still would've ended up with two first-round draft picks. Without knowing how New Orleans fares in the draft in June, this scenario would've been great for the Hornets. 

Forty-five minutes after the deal was struck, NBA Commissioner David Stern vetoed the trade. Since the Hornets are owned by the league (as they search for an acceptable buyer), Stern had the power to do so. The NBA world was rocked by the news as speculation ran rampant as to why the deal was killed.

Many assumed that Stern wanted an even better deal for the Hornets, but most realized that New Orleans wasn't going to get a better offer than the one that was on the table. Sure, Paul is a once-in-a-generation player, but you're not going to get equal value under the circumstances. And 60 cents on the dollar isn't too shabby considering the fact that everyone knew Paul was going to leave New Orleans by the end of the season. 

Six days after the Lakers deal is shot down, the Hornets end up agreeing to trade Chris Paul to the Clippers. The Hornets would acquire Eric Gordon (and his expiring contract), Chris Kaman (and his expiring contract), Al-Farouq Aminu and Minnesota's 2012 first-round pick. Now, I understand hindsight is 20/20, but the Clippers didn't just start making noise when they traded for CP3. They were already a team on the rise and Eric Gordon was a big part of that. Having already signed Chauncey Billups and Caron Butler before the Paul trade was official, the Clippers were playoff bound. 

I don't think I'm the only one that realized that Eric Gordon was going to be devastated by this move. He ended up sitting out almost the entire year. I understand he was injured, but I have a gut feeling he would've played a majority of the games this season had he been in L.A. Chris Kaman was a non-factor in this trade. He had an expiring deal that could've proven to be an asset as the trade deadline neared. Al-Farouq Aminu was the prospect in this trade.

The other major piece in this trade was Minnesota's first-round pick, which most expected would be a low lottery pick. Images of the Cavaliers picking first and fourth were supposed to flash in Hornets fans' minds. Well, Minnesota played outstanding, and that pick looks to be around No. 10. Not at all a bad pick, but not really much better than the Knicks' first-round pick they would've acquired in the original trade that was vetoed (which should be at around No. 15). 

There's a good possibility that the Hornets will end up with Aminu and Minnesota's first-round pick out of all this. They could've ended up with much more. Dragic would've embraced the opportunity to finally get serious minutes and would've probably re-signed with New Orleans. Martin and Scola wouldn't have been able to go anywhere for the next two seasons anyway. Unless they strike gold with that Minnesota pick, there's no way the Hornets come out of this veto a winner. Mind you, it was the Hornets that technically vetoed it. 

A lot of damage was done with Stern's veto. Each player that was traded in the original Hornets/Lakers/Rockets trade took it personally. It's one thing to hear your name brought up in trade rumors, but to actually see a news article of you being traded to a new team? That has to be awkward. We saw how badly Lamar Odom took it, and you can't tell me Pau Gasol wasn't affected by it. Luis Scola was shopped around all year. Houston was desperately trying to pawn him off to L.A. for Gasol, and then tried trading him to Milwaukee in a deal that would've gotten them Andrew Bogut. Kevin Martin has had the most inconsistent season of his career. He's too classy and professional a player to openly show frustration, but he has clearly been shopped all year in attempts to acquire Gasol and even Dwight Howard. 

I truly believe David Stern felt pressure from the vocal owners of the league, such as Cleveland's Dan Gilbert and Dallas' Mark Cuban. They simply didn't want the Lakers to get powerful. I assure you, I'm not a Lakers fan. This isn't coming from any hidden bias. I don't like the Lakers, but they put together a terrific trade that would've improved their team dramatically. Also, as Gilbert feared, they would've put themselves in a prime position to acquire Dwight Howard in a trade.

For the sake of this argument, let's say Dwight would've remained in Orlando regardless. Paul, Kobe, and Bynum would've been unbelievably dangerous. Paul's a master at making guys around him better. He had the Hornets fighting for home court in a loaded Western Conference in past years, and he had virtually no help. He would've brought out the best in guys like Matt Barnes, Ron Artest and Josh McRoberts, not to mention what he would've done for Bryant and Bynum. 

This vetoed trade dominated the news for a good 10 days, but, as we're starting to see the effect of it, I'm surprised there hasn't been more outrage from the Lakers faithful. If Houston fans truly realized what could have been, they would be angry. I think Hornets fans are just too beaten down right now to even care. 

There are far too many losers that came out of this debacle. Chris Paul ended up in the hands of the worst owner in professional sports history, with a coach that is not fit for his position. What can Vinnie Del Negro possibly teach Chris Paul about basketball? 

Three franchises' destinies were decided by a man who clearly had too much power and who felt he "owed one" to the rest of the league. He cowered to the two biggest hypocritical owners in the NBA to save face. The Lakers would've been the favorites to win the 2012 NBA Championship had this trade happened. Houston would've been primed for the future. New Orleans would've been a .500 team.

And who were the winners? Donald Sterling, Cuban, Gilbert, and Stern. Yuck. 

I can't believe I'm saying this, but Lakers fans...you got screwed.